HomesByOwner.com Expands Services to Canada

MEMPHIS, TENN., February 1 /CNW/ - HomesByOwner.com, the United States' largest national network of local For Sale By Owner Web sites, recently expanded services to Canada.

The Canadian site covers approximately 100 metropolitan areas across Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The site, http://www.homesbyowner.com/canada, allows homeowners to post their homes on the Internet and customize a marketing plan, which can include online advertising, yard signs and other features.

"HomesByOwner.com offers national exposure for sellers coupled with the benefits of local experts," said company partner Wayne Strobel. "This is a knock-out punch in real estate terms, providing tailored customer service with a strong marketing tool."

Strobel cites the unique licensing structure as a true benefit to affiliates, as well as customers.

Our model of licensing each site to a local business owner has been successful in the United States., so opening in Canada is a natural extension of our business and our growth strategy," he said. "The Canadian market is similar in that some Canadian consumers are looking for alternatives to the traditional 6 to 7 percent real estate commission structure, and that is what HomesByOwner.com offers.

HomesByOwner.com is not a franchise; the site is provided at a low monthly fee to licensees, or affiliates, which typically include publishers, mortgage brokers, reduced-rate real estate brokers and entrepreneurs. The site is present in more than 685 metropolitan areas across the United States, and it has almost 200 sites locally owned and managed. That number is growing rapidly every single month, and the company plans to have at least 15 successful local affiliates in Canada by the end of 2007.

"We believe the local FSBO marketplace is best served by a local representative, one that knows the local market, neighborhoods and services available in the area," Strobel said. "So, we've designed the site around a local ownership model, which makes HomesByOwner.com the perfect home-selling partner - in the U.S., as well as in Canada."

HomesByOwner.com has been the Web site of choice of for sale by owner professionals since 1995. It is the oldest and most established FSBO Web site in existence, according to company partners. More than half of the nation's For Sale By Owner magazine publishers choose HomesByOwner.com to display their properties.

For more information on HomesByOwner, please visit http://www.homesbyowner.com.